Cinnamon Apple Hand Pies

A classic Fall dessert made easier and smaller. Enjoy these easy to make cinnamon apple hand pies for dessert at home or on the go.

The leaves are starting to change in some places here, even if ever so slightly. Here in New England, we always have a beautiful display of color. If you’ve never seen pretty Fall foliage before in person, I highly recommend making a vacation out of it and heading up north to check it out. A weekend trip is all you need, unless you really want to make a week out of it. Join the locals and visitors and do some leaf peeping. I can’t get enough of it. Of course it’s only just starting. If you follow me on Instagram, be on the lookout for pictures of the leaves and scenery when that kicks into high gear around here.

Of course in addition to the leaves changing, that means my absolute favorite apple is going to be ready soon. Eek. I can hardly contain my excitement. I know it’s just an apple. But it’s not really just an apple. I wait all year for apple season, as you can clearly tell I am all for living it up while it’s happening. So, I put up with other varieties. Heck, I even enjoy other varieties. But Cortland apples hold the key to my heart. My apple heart anyway. And tastebuds. However there are similar earlier varieties that are suitable until my favorite is available. But when that day hits, I only have eyes for the Cortlands.

Now that I’ve professed my love for Fall, foliage, apples and the Cortland variety. Let’s discuss pie, shall we? I love pie. And I really really hope you do too. Because if you don’t, we can’t be friends. But then again, I take that back because it means more pie for me! ;) Always thinking…

But sometimes you don’t want to make a huge gigantic pie and sometimes you want a pie that you can just pick up and take with you instead of sitting down eating with a fork like a civilized person. And sometimes you want to pretend you’re the greatest parent in the world and surprise your kiddo with a pie in their lunchbox, but clearly that’s not an option with a regular pie. Enter hand pies. Flaky, delicious, cinnamon apple hand pies. All of the flavor you crave from a traditional pie, in a smaller version. A neat little package ready to go.

Also, even though I had every intention of sending one of these babies to school with my oldest – it totally didn’t happen. These didn’t last more than an hour or two before being totally devoured. Oops.

You can totally cheat like I did, using pre-made pie dough or you can use dough from scratch. I love both varieties of pie dough. I love how pre-made is basically ready to go and gives the same results every time. I know a lot of people fear making pie dough too, so this is a nice quick version that isn’t to be feared at all.

Directions:

Prepare apple filling; peel, core and chop apples. Toss in a large bowl with cinnamon and brown sugar, coating well. Whisk together egg and water in a small bowl, set aside.

Unroll pie crust. Roll out pie crust to roughly 1/8-inch thick. Using a large round cookie cutter (a biscuit cutter, glass or bowl will also do), cut out 6 rounds, re-rolling scraps as needed until pie dough is used up. Place pie dough rounds on prepared baking sheet. Add 3-4 Tbsp apple pie filling in the center of each round. Roll out remaining pie crust to create the tops. Cut and roll to make slightly larger than the bottom, as it needs to fit over the filling.

Lightly dab your finger in the egg wash, painting a boarder around the edge of the bottom piece of pie dough with filling. Place stretched round over filling, pressing edges together firmly and sealing with a fork imprint. Repeat with remaining dough and pies. Brush tops with egg wash, sprinkle with Turbinado sugar.

Bake for 30 minutes. Cool on pan for 5-10 minutes prior to eating. Store in an airtight container.

Giveaway will run from September 14, 2013 – September 20, 2013. Winner must be at least 18 years old and a US resident. Winner will be randomly selected and emailed. Winner has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. Main entry must be completed or extra entries will not count.

Disclaimer: I asked OXO to be a sponsor of An Apple A Day. This post contains affiliate links.